


Songs Unsung

by okemmelie



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M, Soulmates, it's dumb but we accept that, maybe should be rated mature but idk it's canon compliant it's not more mature than canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-16
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 02:36:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23171071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okemmelie/pseuds/okemmelie
Summary: A show stoppin’ stopping number is something you die for. A soulmate is someone you die for. Or someone you don’t die for. Or someone you kill. Alternatively, Ted's soulmate never sings and Paul's soulmate always sings.
Relationships: Paul Matthews/Ted
Comments: 43
Kudos: 70





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this one's for stry, who requested chai coffee + soulmate au + exes + "you had no idea, did you?" from this list of prompts (that i'm always taking requests from, btw!): https://helenmcwife.tumblr.com/post/613482483289407488/au-trope-prompt-game
> 
> why is there three chapters? the answer is that it's because i have no chill and love to chapter things

Ted was fairly young when his mother first told him about soulmates.  _ Whoever your soulmate is, they’re going to bring you a lot of joy,  _ she’d say and Ted would trust her blindly. Then he’d grow older and learn to despise whoever his soulmate was.

Okay. Maybe despise was a strong word. Strongly dislike, maybe. Or morally disagree with. See, there was a problem with whoever the universe had assigned him to: They were a real piece of shit who refused to cooperate with fate.

Sure, other people struggled too. But unlike Jimmy from down the street, whose soulmate was from a different country or at least sang in a different language (Swedish, he discovered later and told Ted about, although Ted certainly did not care), Ted had nothing. Ted had silence. And while Ted’s friends would talk excitedly among themselves whenever they heard their soulmates sing, Ted heard nothing. Not so much as a hum. Ted’s head was free of unwanted noises, sure, but his heart was free of excitement.

Maybe his soulmate was younger than him, he thought. Then he turned ten and he still hadn’t heard anything. From every day that passed since then, Ted grew more and more opposed to that idea.

When he turned eighteen, he told some of his newfound college friends a lie. Of course he’d heard his soulmate singing! When he turned nineteen, he came clean. When he turned twenty, he gave up entirely.

He started sleeping around.  _ You’re going to regret that _ , his friends would say. He’d put his middle finger up at them. They didn’t know shit. They heard the singing. Their soulmate wasn’t a piece of shit. Their soulmate was  _ real.  _ Sometimes he hoped it just meant he didn’t have one. Would be a hell of a lot easier that way.

* * *

Pretty shortly after his mother told him about soulmates, Paul discovered that he didn’t like them. Sure, maybe he’d like his soulmate. Once they’d met. And once he’d told them to shut the fuck up. But right now, it was awful.

Paul didn’t like musicals. He didn’t like watching people singing or dancing. It made him very uncomfortable and after he found out at a school production of Brigadoon in high school, he did his damn best to avoid them.

At least he could only hear his soulmate’s singing. And humming.

Why did his soulmate always have to sing or hum?

Karaoke nights are popular, especially among college kids who have yet to find their soulmate. It’s a good way to meet a lot of people or at least figure out if one can hear the person who’s singing twice.

Paul has yet to find his soulmate, but he doesn’t go to a karaoke night. Not even once. His soulmate must be a year or two younger, by his estimate, because Paul’s two years into college once the late night karaoke classics start coming while he’s at home and trying to avoid exactly that.

It doesn’t get him to start going to karaoke nights. Even in the odd chance his soulmate goes to the same university that he does and that they frequent the same bar, he’d rather not meet them drunk – or even worse, singing.

His final exam is coming up and he’s trying to study. He needs to study. His soulmate needs to shut up. He’s humming and it’s distracting and Paul hates it.

He briefly considers going through actual Hell: He considers writing a song. He considers writing and singing a song, only to communicate with his soulmate that he needs to be quiet and let him study. But then his soulmate starts singing a song about doing dishes and making garlic bread. It makes no sense, it doesn’t even rhyme and yet somehow, it’s kind of endearing in a way that Paul can’t quite put his finger on.

He passes the exam anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> f

Ted hums. He hums when he cooks, he hums when he drives to work in the morning and sometimes, he’ll even hum at his desk at work and tap his fingers against the table until his coworker, Bill, gives him a stern look and tells him to stop. It’s apparently annoying and unprofessional.

Ten minutes later, he’s humming again. He’s not trying to be annoying (that’s a lie, he’s trying a little bit, but that’s because Bill makes it far too entertaining not to be; and because attention, good or bad, is good).

He never hums when Paul’s around, because Paul’s nicer and cuter than anyone else at the office and Bill’s already told him that Paul doesn’t like it when people sing or dance. Humming isn’t singing, but he’d rather not take chances. He’d much rather ask Paul out.

So he does. He rolls his chair up to his coworker’s desk and he asks him what he’s doing Friday. “Nothing,” Paul says. And a few minutes later, the two of them have plans.

Not having a soulmate kind of fucking sucks, Ted thinks as he engages with other couples. It’s like his and Paul’s relationship is disregarded as not important just because they’re not soulmates. Ted wants to argue with every single person who comments on it; they could be soulmates, they don’t know.

And it doesn’t matter, because Paul’s uncomfortable around people singing. Ted prefers keeping his boyfriend happy to figuring out if they’re soulmates or not.

At least that’s what he tells himself. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if he or Paul sings and the other one doesn’t hear it. Because that’ll mean they’re not meant to be. And as confident as he is in their relationship, he doesn’t want to risk being hurt or disappointed. He doesn’t want to risk losing Paul.

So he keeps his humming and his singing to himself and he silently prays that his soulmate, whoever it might be, knows that he’s out there and that he’s moved on.

* * *

Paul loves Ted.

Ted loves Paul.

Their relationship is really good. Paul knows Ted likes to sing in his car wherever he drives, but he never does when they’re together and Paul’s thankful about that. They’re in love and there’s nothing that can go wrong between them.

It’s like they’re floating on a cloud and all the issues in his life seem to momentarily disappear when Ted’s around. It’s a nice feeling and he wishes he could have it all the time. He considers asking Ted to sing around him, just to see, but it’s been so long and they’re so happy. What if they’re not meant to be and Ted changes his mind? He really doesn’t want what they have together to be over.

It’s Godspell that ends their relationship.

That’s not the whole truth, but it’s some of it. It’s at the Rec Center and Ted says they just  _ have  _ to see it; it’s the kind of once in a lifetime community theater experience that you just can’t miss. Also, Paul owes him.

“They shouldn’t call it Godspell, more like God-awful!” Paul says, only half as a joke. He really does think it’s awful.

Ted doesn’t seem to agree. “I’m actually really enjoying this,” he says and shakes his head. And he gets it. Ted likes musicals. Paul doesn’t.

So they go home once it’s over and Ted’s sad Paul  _ doesn’t at least give it a chance _ and Paul’s just got all this leftover nervous and uncomfortable energy left in his body. It’s not the only issue they’ve had. There’s the whole soulmate question looming over them too.

“You know what, Paul? I don’t think I can do this.” Ted walks out the door. Paul doesn’t stop him. And that’s it. Just like that, Paul and Ted are no more.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's canon time, baby!  
> please do not ask why i phrased it like that, we don't ask questions we just accept

“Hey, you going to Beanie’s?” Ted takes time out of his day to make sure to annoy Paul, because sometimes that feels like the only way he can get his attention these days. And, sure, he’s the one who broke up with Paul and all, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t miss him. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want him back. He does. “You didn’t invite me!”

“Sorry, Ted, do you wanna come?”

Paul doesn’t look like he wants him to come. Paul  _ really  _ doesn’t look like he wants him to come. And, okay. He doesn’t mind annoying Paul, but there’s boundaries about it. So instead he teases him about the cute little barista.

He doesn’t expect her to be the actual reason, but now he’s committed to cool and casual so he goes with it. He’ll be goddamned if Nora is Paul’s fucking soulmate.

That night, he hooks up with Charlotte again. She’s probably not his soulmate either, but what-fucking-ever at this point.

It’s probably not Nora. Because the girl Paul brings around is someone else. Sure, she’s still got the Beanie’s uniform and everything so she’s probably a barista or whatever, but she’s not even cute! And she’s a bad fucking barista, so if she’s Paul’s soulmate, he’ll riot.

Charlotte’s husband shows up and it’s awful. He can see how uncomfortable Paul is with the singing and Charlotte doesn’t look like she’s doing too good either. So he puts an end to it. Then they make their way to the fucking barista’s biology professor’s place.

The inevitable happens. Charlotte dies and Ted’s sad, but he doesn’t have time to think about that before someone points a gun at him and makes him sing. With Paul. Right there.

He doesn’t know Moana that well, but he sings as loudly as he can in hopes that he won’t be able to hear what’s going on in his brain. He’s probably just going a little crazy from all that’s happening, but he swears he can hear Paul’s voice twice.

* * *

He doesn’t hear Ted’s voice twice. He can’t have heard Ted’s voice twice. It’s just wishful thinking because the world is scary, because his “friend” from work just died, because the whole planet might meet an untimely demise soon. Things are just a bit loud and frustrating right now, he’s pretty sure he hears both Emma and Bill’s voices twice as well. 

Bill’s daughter is in trouble; bit trouble. And Ted decides to be an asshole to him instead of trying to help, or hell, even comfort him. He’s a horrible person and a heartless guy. Paul doesn’t consider himself a  _ good _ person, but Bill is his friend. And he’s willing to help. He’s willing to die for Bill, even though he hopes it won’t come to that.

When he returns to the professor’s, Bill’s dead and he hears singing. That’s not a good sign. He rushes to help, but the professor’s already doomed by the time he has a chance to free his… friends? Acquaintances. Ted and Emma.

Ted talks about how he’s going to be a better person and about how Paul’s inspired him, but they don’t have time for this. Then, someone grabs a hold of him and Ted snatches the gun out of his grasp and he runs off. Paul watches him disappear while Emma helps him free and when they catch up to him again, it’s too late.

They don’t make it off the island and Emma’s hurt. She tells him to go destroy the meteor;  _ you cut off the head, the whole thing goes down _ , just like Ted said. It was Ted, right? Emma doesn’t remember and it probably doesn’t matter. They almost kiss, but it’s fine that they don’t because he’s seen Emma sing at Beanie’s. She’s not her soulmate, so he doesn’t mind. And the blood is kind of gross.

“Let it out, let it out, let it out.”  _ Let it out, let it out, let it out _ . Okay. Okay. Okay.  _ Okay _ . Ted’s voice is unmistakably there. Twice. There’s no denying it this time. Okay.

“Never!” Paul sings. No. He doesn’t sing. He can’t be singing. “What was that?”

There’s a brief look of recognition on Ted’s face. A faint, sad smile that fades into creepy fabricated happiness before Paul’s even able to blink. “You had no idea, did you?”

The professor talks and Paul sings. He doesn’t like it. But he keeps eye contact with Ted throughout the whole thing anyway. Then he pulls the pin.


End file.
